4th ANNUAL SONG CONTEST
'Our Santa Fe River'
LIVE MUSIC & ART SHOW
held at Rum 138, Oct. 6, 2013
This year's Song Contestants:
Bud O-Donnell
Michael Loveday
John Smith
Oscar Cramer
Kevin Wayne Sullivan
Bo Page
Rebecca Pethes
Mike Smith
Rufus White III
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| Today and next year, too! Same time, same place, 1st Sunday of every October... |
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| Check road signage for location.. Plenty of parking! |
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| Carolyn Baker taking care of business! Who could resist picking up a shirt or two with a smile like that! |
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| http://floridawaterlandlegacy.org/ Ballot initiative for water and land conservation - check it out now - we have until November 30, 2013 to gather enough signatures, so take action today! |
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| Great stuff! Thanks for the community involvement and kick-back on the proceeds above and beyond! |
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| Mr. Lance Scott, member of Our Santa Fe River, presenting line-up... |
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| Quarter Moon, (John Smith & Raven), playing locally, and will be at Magnolia Fest on Oct 17-20, 2013. |
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| As the crowd builds there is still plenty of room below the tent and the oaks.... |
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| We love PaddleFlorida.org - Want to check out the rivers? Check them out! |
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| Get 'em right here! |
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| Silent auction item that will provide pleasure for years to come! |
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| Oscar Cramer, musician and composer of music, poetry and prose, from Branford.. |
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| Let the sun shine in! |
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| Debby doing what Debby does well... The Lions are a local group that knows the value of good entertainement and how it relates to our environment. Happy to have them here! |
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| Plenty of sun, plenty of shade... |
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| Mr. Kevin Wayne Sullivan, 2nd place finisher, telling it from the heart and soul... |
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| Pam Smith, working the crowd, regardless of age, and a resident of the Santa Fe River, taking backstage to Merrill Jipson. |
Judges table - quality from the get-go...Robert McClellan - music/production management, Mutlu Citim-Ketic - Music Admissions Director at UF, Nate Bisco - award winning band director for Santa Fe High School!
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| Nice people abound in cool hats! |
"Hound Dog" kept everything under control on stage. (*Editor's Note* This was GREAT SOUND. Thanks!)
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| ...From the heart...no doubt about it. Mike Smith, born and raised on the river, as his family... |
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| Rufus White III, now enjoying giving back musicially to the river what he has gotten from it over his lifetime in this area. |
Russ Augsberg directing the bids and Merrillee Jipson doing the heavy lifting - real auction of donated painting by John Sterpe. You can get one of your own at Rum138 Art Gallery.
Bring your wallet!
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| You should have seen the activity here at the end of the day when they announced the BOGO offer! |
Guitars... Harmonicas... and Banjos...
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| Mr. Bo Page - living the life he sings about... |
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| No, banjos are NOT illegal in Florida! |
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| Great food with prime seating! |
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| Bo's view! |
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| This tree (Red Oak) will grow as this event does.... |
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| Rhonda, & Elayne Dubin (another local nature/river artist of note!) |
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| The "I like beer!" lady knows her springs! |
Lots of wonderful donations for the Raffle. Merrillee and Linda Heyl - The Raffle Lady - dispensing the goodies to the winners...
...watching their numbers!
Donated a rafting trip from his company in Georgia for the Raffle! Skip donated a rafting trip on the XXX up in Georgia...
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| Making new friends with common interests, perhaps for life! |
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| High Springs Lions Club promo vehicle for the annual Haunted House - more community based fundraising and fun! |
Okay........we get the point...
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| Music abounds in High Springs! A wonderful opportunity to see live local music Sunday afternoons in downtown High Springs behind City Hall. |
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| Everyone is welcome! A wonderful mix of wonderful people. |
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| Yes, why do you ask? |
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| Yummmmmmy! |
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| Ramping up local radio! |
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| Michael Canney - moving the radio station forward to promote the community. |
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| That is one darn fine skimmer! |
This year's song writing winners:
1st Place: Michael Loveday, “Drift Away” (Right)
2nd Place: Kevin Wayne Sullivan, “Santa Fe Blues” (Middle)
3rd Place: Bo Page, “We All Own The River” (Left)
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| Sponsorship plug!!!! Unbiased, at that! Go Bo! |
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| Marrillee showing a result of their education program called "Our Santa Fe River Springs Tie-die Kitchen Towel Project" that teaches the holder that your tap water has the same source that feeds the springs. You too could be connected to the river through these great raffle prizes. |
It helps to win if you buy LOTS of raffle tickets!!
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| Everything about this place is comfortable... |
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| Great days inspire great conversations.. |
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| Bo, pointing to the sky. |
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| Just around the corner! One of the very few free springs in the North Florida area. |
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| Hop on and take 'er for a spin, and maybe a splash! |
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| This is the river that it is all about....nice... |
SR 47 Bridge over the Santa Fe River (with boat ramp)
Santa Fe River at dusk
The Song
Contestants...
Bud O'Donnell is a
widely ignored songwriter and playright, lives on the Santa Fe River and loves
the river. His most recent creation is Twaiku, the offspring of the marriage
between Twitter and Haiku. Budodonnell2,
budod@msn.com
Michael
Loveday aka ThreeChordStrum.
Co-Founder of the High Springs Music in the Park Series, Moved to High Springs
10 years ago and when there was very little in the music scene here. So instead
of complaining and doing nothing or going to other area's, like Newberry, Gville
or Lake City to play, Mike worked to bring "Local" artists here to High Springs.
This Oct, The Music in the Park will be having the 19th show, featuring Sno
Rogers, an Americana tradition in N. FL.
Mike has participated in
2 or the last 3 Song Contest shows; placing 2nd in the 2011 show.
Music in the Park
Coordinator, ThreeChordStrum,
352-275-4190
John
Smith wrote his first song
“Pappy Kirk” some 30 years ago when he was with a band named Harmony Grits, now
known as Quartermoon. He has since written a good many songs and recorded them
on a CD that was recently released by Quartermoon Band. John feels writing songs
can be very challenging and can't be forced. He has to wait patiently until the
lyrics and melody comes to him. However, having a good subject matter, such as
the serenity of the rivers in close proximity to our home, made it a bit easier.
Hope you enjoy 352-316-0497
Oscar Cramer
Musician, lyricist,
composer. Author of “Random Thinking” a book of poetry and prose. I am currently
in the process of publishing a new children's book of poems and songs written in
conjunction with each other as well as including a coloring book page to each
poem/song for the child to express their own picture of what they see in what
they read. The Library systems in Lafayette and Suwannee County ask me to come
and sing and read to the children. Co-owner of Smoakhouse Ranch in Branford, FL,
386-935-6927
Kevin Wayne Sullivan
Born in Dallas, TX in
1962. Kevin has been a resident of 3-Rivers Estates for the past 25 years. He
has been playing music in this area for the same amount of time. His home is
nestled at the confluence of the Ichetucknee River and Santa Fe River. In the
1st Song Contest, Kevin performed his song “Dynamite Joe”
and can be viewed on our website or YouTube.
Bo
Page Organic Farmer; Singer
Songwriter/ Musician; Martial Arts instructor. Winner of the Golden Mullet
Award. Life long resident of Alachua county. Advocate of Peace. Bo has been a
participant in previous Song Contests and placed in
3nd and 3rd places in the past
years. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bo-Page-Official/190114407726025
Rebecca Pethes
is a Canadian
singer-songwriter. Although she wanders between styles, she channels her musical
passion for variety into songwriting. She is an experienced performer in a
variety of genres: Opera, Jazz, Musical Theatre, The Great American
Songbook, Folk, Celtic and Early Music. She holds a masters degree in vocal
performance from Bowling Green State University and is a voice teacher at
the Academy of Music & Art in Gainesville. She is available to sing at
events in the surrounding area--weddings, parties, etc. Please contact her at
518-860-2689 or at rebeccapethes@hotmail.com
Mike Smith Growing up a country boy I have always been around music
through church or back yard picking. Music seems to a great way to bond with
others whether it's with the ones around you or the ones that have past away. It
is a reflection of feelings and a way to tell some great stories. Although I
haven't played long seriously I love to play a song and see folks reaction to
something that touches them.
M and D Outfitters, North Fla. Mud Motors, 352-494-3776
M and D Outfitters, North Fla. Mud Motors, 352-494-3776
Rufus White III
grew up
mostly in High Springs and has enjoyed the Santa Fe River and the simple
pleasures it offers. He now lives in Alachua with his wife and kids and tries to
write songs that people would want to sing and play at gatherings and around
campfires, with their families and friends. Mainly a harmonica player, Rufus was
not allowed to play harmonica in the house until he became good at playing it
elsewhere. Now (some) people call him “The Harmonica Playin’ Maintenance
Man…” He has been seen and heard playing harmonica in church, and with other
musicians and bands occasionally, and enjoys it immensely… He was nicknamed
“Brother Rufus” by one of his favorite musician friends, Haylee
Slaughter.
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Note: As time allows, we will post a separate photo album with additional event photos. The link will be listed here when we can reach that point in our "To Do List"! Thank you!
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Posted by Jazz & Blues Florida
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Thanks!
Wow, that was a fun photo essay Debbie Strickland and Charlie Boyer! Thanks for coming out in support of the annual event. Same time next year for the 5th Annual Out Santa Fe River Singing and Songwriting Contest 2014, October 5th, (first Sunday in October, every year) We already received our first entrant and day after this show. The musicians deserve so much credit for this song spectacular. We could not do it without them. There are 30 new songs about the Santa Fe River in the 4 years of this contest. Many thanks to all.
ReplyDeleteThese photos are amazing, I was there and if you scroll through them and look closely it tells the story of the event as if you were there. Share this with you family and friends and point out all the cool things that happened, all the great song of the river and what will come of the hard work Merrillee and her team have accomplished,
ReplyDeleteWow. A blast from the past. The singer/songwriter contest has morphed into RiverFest. This will be the 11th Annual with a two year COVID break. Sunday March 26, 2023 The website will be up and running soon. Get those songs ready to upload your entry. Can't wait. Thanks for this great piece of journalism.
ReplyDelete